Journey Into Hope
by GalaxyOwl13
Summary: VoldemortWins!au: Susan, Hannah, and Dean's only hope is to find the safehouse where Dudley stayed. But Dudley forced his family to send him to Smeltings and the Order could no longer guard the safehouse. All four, with the help of Piers Polkiss, must find their way to the safehouse for medicine for a wounded member. Dudley's important too, couldn't fit. For Cheeky Slytherin Lass.


**Author's Note: This is a gift fic for Cheeky Slytherin Lass, written for the November One-Shot Exchange. This is the longest fanfiction chapter I have written, at 10714 words without the author's note. I worked hard on this, but I had to do so quickly. All romance in here relies upon what I know from books and fanfiction, and it's not a giant part of the story. Also, I apologize for any inconsistencies and errors, as well as any inaccurate portrayals of the characters. There wasn't a lot on them, especially Piers. If anyone wants me to continue/expand upon this I might, but it will likely remain a one-shot forever.**

**Info for One-Shot Exchange:**

**Pairings/Characters: DeanPiers, HannahSusan, Platonic DudleyPiers, Charlie Weasley**

**Genres: Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, and some Tragedy**

**Prompts: (dialogue) "I like it when you hold my hand." (au) Voldemort wins. (quote) "Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints."**

**Warnings: Character Death, some gore (one part where there's a lot of blood, it will be obvious when it's coming so you can skip), and non-graphic torture that happens to a character when it's not in their point of view. The romantic ships are DeanPiers and HannahSusan. I believe that these are slash and femslash. If you don't like that type of ship, don't write nasty reviews. Don't like, don't read.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe.**

* * *

_Hannah Abbott_

Hannah could still remember it, that horrible sound as she watched Harry's body hit the ground at the hands of Lord Voldemort, the monster that had destroyed her family, her home, and her life. She could remember Voldemort's laughter, high, clear, and cold, echoing throughout the Great Hall as his magnificent wand released the Dark Mark. She could remember the screams from the masses as he killed all those who had dared stand by Harry Potter, their last words filling the air as everyone stood paralyzed, too late to stop anything.

Voldemort would not have let her live. Hannah knew that, but she didn't care. She could never forgive Susan for grabbing her as she Apparated away from the massacre, fleeing from the battle like a coward. Hannah hadn't even thought that that was possible, but apparently Voldemort had destroyed the wards with Dumbledore's wand to allow the Deatheaters in. Hannah wasn't a fighter; she wasn't a battle mage with terrifying powers of magic. She was a shy, scared Healer. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't have stood her ground. She would have remained strong until the very end, but Susan had taken that choice away.

"Hannah," Susan said quietly. Hannah ignored her. "Hannah, I've got an idea." Silence. _Maybe she'll leave me in peace if I stay quiet_. "Hannah, please, I've apologized, I have, I don't know what you want me to _do_!"

"I wanted you to let me stay," Hannah said, her voice quavering.

"He would have killed you," Susan responded.

"Then at least I wouldn't have died as a traitor. I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand," Hannah said coldly. Susan had been her friend since she was six. It felt so _wrong_ to be like this, and it hurt so much, but Hannah knew that she couldn't forgive her. No, shouldn't forgive her. It shouldn't take this much effort to keep being angry.

"Think of all the people you can heal now," Susan pleaded. "They'd have died if you died. Is it a crime for me to want to save my friend?"

"You should listen to her," Dean said, walking out from the tent to sit on the foldable bench next to Hannah. "I didn't think so at first, but think of all the trouble we can cause now. Resist He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers. Just because Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived doesn't mean we can't defeat You-Know-Who, you know?" He had happened upon the group after escaping with the help of Aberforth Dumbledore and had been travelling with them for the past few days.

"There're still Muggleborns out there, rotting away in Azkaban," Susan added, "and you're no good to them dead."

"I'm sorry," Hannah whispered, "but that doesn't mean I think that was the right choice."

"I'm just glad to have my friend back," Susan said, smiling as she hugged Hannah. It felt a bit uncomfortable, but Hannah reminded herself that Susan had hugged her thousands of times.

"So can we hear the idea?" Dean interrupted. "Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," Susan said immediately, turning away from Hannah and towards Dean. Hannah followed suit. "So basically, I was thinking about Harry's family. He lived with his Aunt and Uncle at Number – Hannah, please don't cry!"

"Sorry," Hannah sniffled. It still hurt to remember Harry's death. "I-I'm fine. Please continue."

"Alright, if you really are fine," Susan said. "So I know he said that they don't sound like really nice people, but they were in hiding, right? Maybe they can show us to the safehouse."

"Trust the Dursleys?" Dean said dismissively. "No way. They were horrible to poor Harry."

"Yeah, but maybe they've gotten better," Susan argued. "And they're our only chance. We keep getting found by Snatchers out here – it's terrible. We've got to do something before the inevitable happens."

"What if they're being hunted too?" Hannah asked.

"I'm willing to take that risk. But we've got to be in agreement here. We go to Harry's house together, or not at all," Susan said.

Dean paused for a second. "I'm in." Hannah looked at him skeptically. "It's our only hope. Harry survived on the run, but he had Hermione. I mean," he added after a second and a glare from Susan, "we have you and Susan. You've both amazing, powerful, awesome witches. But she's top of her year, and Harry's the Chosen One. What do you expect?"

"Alright," Hannah conceded, "but I think we might be biting off more than we can chew."

"_Sarcinis tabernacula!_" Susan said, waving her wand in a complicated motion as the tent folded in on itself and floated into the bag. The bench collapsed under Hannah and Dean and flew towards the bag at top speed, nearly hitting Susan in the head. "Sorry," Susan squeaked. "Need to work on that one a bit more."

"Definitely," Dean agreed. "I mean, it could use a bit more work but you could almost have it." Hannah sighed.

"Now," Susan said as she picked up her backpack. "We go."

"Where?"

"Number Four Privet Drive, of course," Susan said.

"Maybe…" Hannah trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Maybe we...don't want to Apparate there? They could've set off a Cater-Cata-Cattor…"

"Caterwauling Charm," Dean supplied. "Plus have you even been there before? You need to picture it perfectly in your mind."

"I…yeah. I've never been good at Apparation," Susan admitted.

"So what do we want to do?" Susan asked.

"Wait a sec," Dean said, digging through his pack until he took out a large map. "I went to Chobham with my mum and sisters once. I could bring us there, and we could…not walk, but take a bus easily to Little Whinging."

"Or –" the two turned to look at Hannah, and she immediately lost confidence. "Wecouldgosomewherenearitsowedon'traisealarms," she whispered at top speed.

"Sorry?" Susan asked. "I didn't quite hear that."

"We could go somewhere near Little Winging so that we don't raise any alarms."

"Great idea!" Susan beamed. Hannah smiled back, and they just sat there happily for a moment.

"Uh, we should be going now, right?" Dean asked cautiously. Hannah snapped out of it and felt her cheeks turning red.

"Sorry," she muttered, turning her face away.

"Um…" Dean sat there looking confused for a moment before shrugging. "It's fine, I guess. Now about Apparation." Hannah and Susan grabbed his arms, and he spun away in a whirl of colors and light –

Push! Pull! Stretched! Snapped! Poof!

"Erg," Susan remarked, obviously trying not to puke. "Side-Along Apparation. Tough. Me. Hate."

"Bad," Dean agreed nauseously and even less articulately.

"So…"

"Bus station," Dean said, recovering quickly. "I'll show you."

* * *

_Dudley Dursley_

Dudley hadn't liked being in hiding, stuck away from his friends and his video games. Those nasty wizards had expected him to read _books_ all day long. As if!

Eventually, though, he had resorted to his old habit of throwing a fit until he got what he wanted. It had felt weird and all _wrong_, and Dudley was very worried about that. He was Dudley Dursley, and he deserved whatever he wanted. He shouldn't feel bad for making sure that he got what he deserved. But he did, and he hated it.

Whatever. What was done was done. His parents agreed to send him back to Smeltings, and the hocusy-pocusy wizards? Well, they had been glad to get rid of him. Dudley had thought that everyone except his freak cousin liked him. Well, these were freaks too. Since when did their opinions matter?

But when he returned to Smeltings, everyone was used to not living in fear of him, and they didn't want to give that up. The only one who stuck by Dudley was Piers Polkiss, his friend since he was seven from Privet Drive. It was annoying, and Dudley hated it, but at least he was free from the freaks.

On the last day of school, he had taken the train home from Smeltings and gotten a ride with Pier's dad back to little Winging. His parents had stopped responding to his letters after a short, cryptic note that said "The freaks broke their promise. We're leaving, and it's up to you to find your own way."

And thus, Dudley had returned to Number 4, Privet Drive to find the house in ashes on the ground.

"Dudley?" Piers said quietly. "Dudley, say something. Please. Are you okay? Are you –"

"_They_ did that," Dudley whispered, staring in terrified awe down at the wreckage of his former house. "Because of the freak."

"Your cousin burned down the house?" Piers asked. "I thought you said that you had been unfair to him."

"No," Dudley said. "You don't understand. I had to go away – because some people wanted to hurt him. They might've wanted to hurt me and my parents to get to him, even though it _wouldn't've._ It wouldn't have gotten to him, but they didn't know that. So they destroyed this place."

"I don't understand," Piers asked.

"We've got to go," Dudley said. "Now."

But at the same moment that he spoke, another voice screamed the same, chilling word. "NOW!" And the world broke out in chaos.

"What the hell!" Piers screamed as a bolt of red light flew past them, missing wildly. "Is it UFOs?"

"RunrunrunrunRUN!" Dudley panted as he started racing away from the house, regretting every donut that he had stolen from the kitchens that morning.

"Agh!" Another voice screamed as a girl with blonde hair tripped and fell, narrowly avoiding a stream of green light. "Deatheaters!"

"Freaks!" Dudley shouted.

"Aliens!" Piers yelled.

"WHAT?" A dark-skinned boy screamed as he waved his magic wand at one of the other freaks that had appeared out of thin air.

Meanwhile, a high-pitched scream filled the air. Dudley glanced around wildly, but none of the freaks was doing it. "Damn it!" One of the freaks wearing black yelled. "Stupid Caterwauling Charm!"

"Idiot!" Another cried, sending a red beam of light at Dudley. He felt his arms snap to his side and legs freeze in place as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud, his breathing labored.

"Help," he tried to yell, but his mouth absolutely refused to move. There were two girls brandishing magic wands and the boy fighting the freaks wearing black, but there were ten of the ones in black. They had no chance, and Dudley knew he was going to die.

And yet, he watched, helpless and afraid, as one by one the freaks wearing black fell with the regularly-dressed freaks sustaining only minor injuries. Finally, there was only one of the evil freaks left.

But this one fought with a dangerous fury, his wand sending forth such a torrent of deadly spells that there was only a matter of time before one of the less-freaky freaks was hit. Piers was cowering behind a shrubbery, muttering about UFO's, but the freaks continued their dangerous dance around the colored beams of light.

"Can't defeat me!" The freak said in a sinister voice, baring his sharp, knife-like yellow teeth.

"We'll get you yet!" The freak with red hair yelled, waving her wand and lunging at him. "For Lavender!"

And then everything happened all at once.

The yellow-toothed freak slipped on his weird freaky robe, bringing him just under the spell that would have hit by sheer luck. It must've passed about a centimeter from his nose, but he ignored it and screamed "Die, Muggle scum!"

Dudley felt his body tense up as he knew he was going to die, but the curse didn't fly towards him. It went towards Piers.

Dudley pushed hopelessly against the spell that had petrified him with all his might, but he could only watch helplessly as it flew on, on, on…

And then the dark-skinned freak fell to the ground, a pool of red flowing from his leg where the bone was visible. _What?_ Dudley's brain struggled to make sense of what had just happened. The curse had been going towards Piers, it was supposed to hit Piers, why hadn't it hit Piers?

The yellow-toothed freak screamed in pain as a red curse hit him and then disappeared in a whirl of black robes.

What.

What?

WHAT!

The screaming continued on.

* * *

_Dudley Dursley Continued_

"What's his name?" Dudley heard someone ask.

"I dunno," someone else answered. "Wait a second, I think this is the Dursley one. We've found him!"

"But what's his name, Daniel?"

"Dubey."

"Dudley," Piers said, his eyes wide. "It's Dudley Dursley, and what are you aliens doing here?"

"Are you a Muggle?" One of them asked. Dudley's vision was blurry, but it looked like she had reddish hair.

"Susan," the boy said. "Muggles don't know what that means."

"Dudley, can you hear me?" The blonde girl asked. "Are you hurt? I can use…magic to heal you if you are."

"MAGIC?" Piers yelled.

"Keep it down!" The girl with red hair said urgently.

"MAGIC?" The girl clapped her hand over his mouth.

"Frozen," Dudley tried to say, but nothing came out.

"Body-bind," the blonde one diagnosed him. "I've got to go back to Dean." The other girl whispered some weird freaky incantation and he felt his limbs loosen up.

"Th-thanks," he muttered. Saved by three freaks – the worst moment of his life.

"What the hell is going on?" Piers asked, pulling the girl's hand off his mouth.

"Shush and we'll explain," she said, looking over to where the boy who must be Dean was lying on the ground with the blonde one tending to him.

"Is he going to be alright?" Piers asked.

"Hopefully. You'd better be worth it – if not for that idiot's hero instincts you'd be dead and he'd be fine."

"Sorry," Piers said quietly.

"So I'm Susan, and those are Hannah and Dean."

"You're freaks."

"We're witches and wizards," Susan corrected. "Now you – up. We've got to get out of here before they send more Deatheaters to compound upon this mess."

"What are Deatheaters?" Piers asked.

"Evil wizards and witches," Susan answered. "Real evil. They want to kill us all. So, we came to Harry's cousin here to find out where the safehouse he hid in is."

"Harry Potter was magic?" Piers asked.

"The Chosen One or some sort of rubbish like that," Dudley said crossly. "Which is why we're in this mess."

"Harry died defending us," Susan said in a voice that didn't leave room for argument, "against an evil wizard named – well, if you say his name then he can find you. We call him "You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Susan!" Hannah yelled. "I'm gonna need more medical supplies – I can't do this without that. Dean's not gonna last forever without them. I can bring him conscious, though."

"Dudley Dursley," Susan said, "you are going to show us to the safe house or else…or else an innocent person will die." She saw the expression on his face. "Do you want his blood on your hands?"

If he didn't, he could get Piers's dad to drive him to Aunt Marge's house. He would be perfectly fine there until his parents could come get him. He didn't need these freaks.

Dudley was about to say that he didn't care when he suddenly stopped. Harry had died defending his friends, and now this boy would die defending Piers if he didn't do anything about it. They had literally risked their lives for him. And apparently, they hadn't even known who he was when they did it. Why would anyone do that?

Why would anyone be that foolish, that stupid, that _brave_? Dudley didn't get it, but he thought that he wanted to. He wanted to understand. These people had saved him because they were _good_. And maybe he owed it to them to help them save their friend.

Owed? Owed? Dudley didn't owe anyone anything! What was wrong with him? What was _wrong_? Maybe this was…right? No way. Ridiculous! Utter rubbish! Dudley Dursley deserved everything he wanted, and people who helped him were only giving _him_ what he was owed. Dudley didn't owe them anything. Did he?

No, no, no, _no!_ Something was seriously wrong with Dudley, because he was actually considering agreeing to help these freaks solve their own nasty, freaky problems. He shouldn't care if another freak died – good riddance, as Dad would say! But he did, and that was weird. These freaks had saved his best friend. And now it was his turn to help them. "I'll come. I think I remember where it is."

"You," Susan said, pointing to Piers, "can come or stay, doesn't matter to me, but choose quickly."

"I –" Piers looked around. "Is…that kid going to die?"

"Not if we get him somewhere with good medicine quickly," Susan said.

"This is my fault," Piers said quietly. "I'll go with you – for Dudley, I mean. He should have some company that's not…weird magical people."

"Right. Now let's go."

"Dean can't Apparate with us," Hannah said quietly. "He'd die."

"And – and D-D-Dudley's the only one w-who k-k-knows where i-t is, b-but he's a Muggle."

"Dean!" Susan yelled. "You're up!"

"Yeah," he muttered. "Head hurts. Ow."

"I'm sorry!" Hannah cried. "I used all the painkiller on your leg – I regrew some of the flesh, but I don't have dittany and – and –"

"You did a great job, Hannah," Dean said. "Really." He struggled to his feet. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Dean tried to lean on Susan when she placed his arm on her shoulder, but his weight made her stagger and tumble to the ground. He nearly fell too, but Piers caught him and held him up. "Thanks."

"You're…welcome. God, it's weird to be helping a wizard. Weird to be helping anybody – like this, I mean."

"So how're we gonna get to the safehouse?" Hannah asked from where she was sitting on the ground.

"How'd you two g-get here?" Dean asked.

"My dad drove us," Piers said. "But he's at work now."

"I can get us a car," Dudley said suddenly. "We'll go to Figg's place."

"Figg?" Susan asked. "As in, the wizarding family?"

"Old Mrs. Figgy is a freak too?" Dudley asked. "S-sorry." It was hard to choke out that single word. "She has a car, though she never uses it. We break through the window – she hasn't got any alarms on it. Piers can hotwire the car for us."

"Huh?" Hannah asked.

"How do you know this stuff?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Uh," Piers said, his face turning red. "Uh, we may have, when we were younger, well, before we really understood, we…"

"You stole Mrs. Figg's car," Dean said sadly. "Fine, I guess it'll prove useful now."

"If it helps, we haven't done anything like that since we were sixteen," Piers said quietly. "And we're sorry about it."

"Why're you apologizing to me?" Dean asked. "You've got to apologize to Mrs. Figg to make it right, but it doesn't matter now. We're gonna steal her car anyway."

"I'm lost here," Susan admitted. "I don't really…know what hot-wiring is."

"They know how to make the car turn on without the key," Dean explained. "They've stolen Mrs. Figg's car before, maybe even stolen car's multiple times from the way Dudley was confident in Piers's ability."

"Oh," Hannah said. "But…well, second chances, right?"

"I guess," Dean said skeptically. Piers looked ashamed but didn't say anything. Dudley decided that it was time to move to a safer topic.

"Let's go get the car. I can drive us there."

"Wait a sec," Susan said. "We've got magic, we can just use _Alohomora_."

"It's not a normal lock," Dudley explained, "but you can try." They walked over to Mrs. Figg's driveway and took a look at her car. It was small, made to seat only four people and one…cat, and smelled heavily like…cats.

"_Alohomora!_" The car door clicked open, and Dudley climbed into the driver's seat.

"Where're you gonna sit?" Piers asked.

"Hannah, Susan, and Piers are the smallest, so they'll sit in the back," Dean suggested. "I'll sit in front. Plus I won't bleed on anyone there."

"Alright," Dudley said.

"_Alohomora!_" Susan cast. The car didn't turn on.

"Right. Piers?"

* * *

_Susan Bones_

Susan sat next to Hannah and Piers Polkiss, wondering what was wrong with her. Hannah's legs kept brushing hers because they were crammed in there, and it felt _weird_. It wasn't supposed to feel weird – it was supposed to be unnoticeable, unimportant, completely and absolutely normal.

They had been driving for hours, and had run out of things to talk about. Dudley kept making wrong turns because his memory of the maps was bad, so Dean had to help him. Dean was being unusually quiet, which was perfectly understandable since he had a giant hole nearly to the bone in his leg that would only keep from bleeding until Hannah's medicine ran out. Hannah was upset that she hadn't been able to do more from Dean, despite being an amazing Healer, and nothing Susan did made her feel better.

"Hannah," Susan said.

"Yes?"

"Dean's gonna be fine."

"No thanks to me."

"Dean would be dead by now if not for you!"

"I bet Hermione could've healed him in an instant."

"I bet Hermione would tell you that you've done your best and that you're _amazing_," Susan reassured her friend.

"Thanks," Hannah sniffled.

"So," Dudley said, "any food? Or coffee? The driver needs coffee."

"We could stop at a convenience store," Dean said after a moment of looking at the maps. "We'll be by one…soon. I can give you directions."

"Great," Susan said cheerfully.

A few minutes later, they turned into the parking lot. "I'll go in," Susan volunteered.

"No," Dean said, "I will. You don't know how to use Muggle money and, well, whoever goes in will be in the most danger. They'll split up."

"You're limping," Piers said. "That'll attract attention. I'm not the cousin of the…Boy-Who-Learned? No, Lived. The Boy-Who-Lived. I'm not his cousin. And I'm not a wanted fugitive. I'm just a guy here to pick up some snacks on my way home from my final year of boarding school."

"Okay," Dudley said. "D'you have money?"

"Some. What d'you guys want?" Piers asked.

"Just get some crisps and bananas or stuff like that," Dean suggested. "Nothing fancy. And maybe some painkiller for my headache."

"It didn't go away? Are you okay?" Piers asked.

"Fine," Dean said shortly.

"Well, okay then," Piers shrugged. "See you in a few minutes."

"Don't say that," Susan muttered.

About a minute later, a scream came from inside the store. "Damn it!" Dean yelled.

"Don't you dare!" Susan said, stepping out of the car. "You stay there, safe. Your leg is bad enough as it is!"

"I'm coming!"

"Hannah, stay by Dean and keep him safe. I'm going in!"

"You can't go alone!" Dudley said.

"You're a Muggle, these people have _magic_, you idiot!" Susan yelled.

"I wasn't volunteering. I'll watch Dean, you go in with Hannah," Dudley suggested.

"I'll come," Hannah volunteered eagerly.

"Whatever you do," Dudley said, "do it quickly!" Susan ran towards the store only to find the door locked.

"_Bombarda!_" She yelled. The door blast open, a large chunk of it hitting Hannah in the stomach. "Hannah, Hannah, are you alright?"

"Ow," Hannah moaned. "Go!" Susan raced into the building to see four Deatheaters wearing masks and holding Piers down. One had his wand pointed at the boy and the others had theirs pointed at her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," one of them said, grinning as her mouth opened to cast a Stunner. "You see, we outnumber you, and we've got your friend here. So here's the deal – you and your little pals come willingly and we let the innocent go."

"Or?" Susan said, levelling her wand at them.

"Or else we kill you and kill him too. It's always good fun to play with a Muggle scum," another answered. "In fact, we'll throw something else into the deal – the purebloods can go free if they don't cause any trouble. Go hide out somewhere, live a quiet life, and we'll leave them alone. Leave _you_ alone. So what's it going to be?"

"We'll do it," Dean said. He stood by the door, leaning on Dudley heavily for support. "We agree to your terms."

"This is madness!" Susan yelled. "We can't give into their demands! They're Deatheaters!"

"We're waiting," one of the Deatheaters said dangerously, "and our patience is drawing to an end."

"We agree," Dudley said quietly.

"No!" Piers insisted.

"Shut up!" The Deatheater that was holding his wand over him said eagerly. "Now come over here, scum."

Dean stepped forwards, but Susan pulled him back. "Don't you dare do this," Susan said. "We'll fight – we'll fight!"

"_Crucio!_" The Deatheater yelled. Susan's muscles tensed up, preparing for her to dodge or push Dean out of the way if necessary, but instead the curse hit Piers, who screamed in pain.

"_Bombarda Maxima!_" Dean shouted furiously. The spell shot out of his wand and hit the shocked Deatheater full in the chest. He exploded in a mass of flesh and blood, which splattered all over the shop. "Who's next?" He asked. The Deatheaters backed away in fear.

"Look, we –"

"_Bombarda Maxima!_" Dean yelled again, making Hannah back away in fear. Susan was afraid too, quite frankly. She had never seen Dean like this before. He fell against the wall in exhaustion.

"Dean!" Hannah yelled. "_Magicae stabiliendum_," she chanted, her wand making small, concise circles on his chest.

The Deatheaters ran, disappearing into the night.

* * *

_Dean Thomas_

"How did they find us?" Dean groaned. His leg was hurting again, but that didn't mean he wanted everyone fussing over him, especially when there was a Muggle who had just experienced the Cruciatus Curse. Why should his pain be more important than Piers's?

"Hold still," Hannah insisted, cleaning his leg wound and applying a fresh bandage.

"I dunno," Piers said.

"And you!" Hannah told him. "You've got to hold on too, Piers. Honestly, you're all terrible patients. _Boys_. You've literally just…well, you shouldn't be trying to even talk after that!"

"Did they put a Taboo on our names?" Susan asked.

"No way," Dudley said. "You explained the…You-Know-Who…one and that only worked because everyone is too scared of him. People would say our names without being a problem to him."

"But they do seem to have some way of tracking us," Piers said.

"Don't _move_," Hannah ordered.

"Fine," Piers grumbled.

"Maybe they've got a tracking spell?" Dean wondered. "Do those exist?" They would if this was a Muggle movie.

"Yeah," Susan said, "but they can only be put on a specific object – more like a piece of clothing or a necklace. Skin won't work, for some reason, but other living things can accept it."

"But in this play my auntie brought me to –" Hannah wondered.

"The Curse of the Twelfth Soldier?" Susan asked. "They put it on Charles's hair." Dean didn't know quite what they were talking about, but it seemed like trackers were somewhat widespread here.

"So, what do we do?" Dean asked. "Can you check for trackers?"

"I can," Susan said. "Er, give me a sec to remember the spell. Oh! _Malus navis inveniet!_ Nothing on me."

"What about us?" Hannah asked.

"None on you," Susan checked. "Or Piers and Dudley. Oh – Dean's got one." _So it's my fault this has happened. My fault everything has happened_. Dean wondered when it had been placed – since when he had been responsible for his friends' suffering. Piers might have gone through that terrible curse because of him, and Susan could have died. They all could have died.

"Can you get it off?" Dean asked, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"_Sa malus navis! Malus navis inveniet!_ It's not working," Susan said.

"Try again," Piers requested.

"Stop moving, you idiot," Hannah told him.

"_Sa malus navis! Sa malus navis! Malus navis inveniet!_ Nothing. I can't remove it."

"Well, it's simple, then, isn't it?" Dean said quietly, steeling himself for what would have to come next. "You've got to leave me here."

"NO!" Everyone cried at once. "Dean," Susan said, "you've got to stay here. We'll get it off, I'm sure."

"You just said that you can't."

"I'm sure if you give me a little time…"

"We don't _have_ time," Dean said. Why couldn't they see? Every second that he put his friends at risk was another moment of torture for him. He couldn't stand to stay with them and possibly cause their deaths. "I'm leaving, and you can't stop me."

"_Stupefy_," Susan whispered.

"_Protego!_" The shield appeared in place, deflecting her spell and causing her to fall back against Hannah. "I'm leaving." Dean stepped out of the car, forcing himself not to look back, as he walked off into the night.

"No." Hannah stood in front of him, surrounded by a halo of bright yellow light. "No. You are _my _patient, and you're going to stay in my hospital until you get better. You might have a tracking charm and the hospital may be a car, but you are going to _stay_."

"Let me go!" Dean insisted.

"We have to," Susan whispered. "They'll find us – and Dean'll be safer too. One person is a whole lot less suspicious than all of us."

"Fine," Dudley said from behind them. "If you're sure."

"Goodbye, Dean," Hannah said quietly. "But please try to get to safety."

"Bye," Dean said sadly, turning to go…

"No," Piers said loudly.

"What?" Dean said. "You can't stop me." He didn't want to leave – why did Piers have to make it harder than it already was? He didn't think he'd be able to hurt Piers – that is, because he was a defenseless Muggle, of course, certainly not because he was…

"There's got to be another way," Piers said. "We can _all _live. We're the good guys – it's weird to be one, but I suppose we really are. We don't let anyone die."

"Life doesn't work like that," Dean said sadly. "Death doesn't distinguish between the sinners and the saints." And an upper-class boy who had been protected from everything by his parents just wasn't going to understand that.

"Don't just stand there talking profoundly, _do_ something!" Piers yelled. "How…how…is there any way we might have been unable to remove it?"

"You can only place a tracking spell on something you can see. If you have enough practice on similar objects, you don't have to touch it, but otherwise you do. I tried your hair and fingernails, Dean, but nothing worked," Susan explained. Dean sighed. Every second they waited here was a second the Death Eaters had to find them.

"All of you need to leave, now," Dean insisted, turning away.

"But –" Hannah said quietly, seeming to have gathered up the courage to defy Susan, Dudley, and Dean.

"It's the only way for anyone to live, Hannah," Susan said.

"I'll go with you!" Hannah insisted.

"No!" Susan told her, grabbing her arm.

"Don't you _dare_ stop me, Susan Bones!" Dean looked around. Piers was deep in thought, muttering to himself. Dudley was whispering to Piers. And Susan was holding Hannah back. Dean had to go. He fled, leaving the group behind as he sped away down the edge of the dark road…

"Wait!" Dean looked back over his shoulder at the sound of Piers's voice, but continued on, ignoring him. "Susan _Bones_! He put it on the bone. Dean, come back!" But Dean didn't hear. All he heard was Piers trying to stop him, and he knew that if he listened, he wouldn't want to leave. So, he ran, feet pounding against the hard earth.

"Dean!" Someone shouted. It was Piers, who somehow had caught up and was running alongside him. "Dean, we figured it out! Dean, please!"

Someone grabbed his arm, hard, and wrenched it away. Dean tumbled down into the grass, his shoulder pushed into the ground as a large, crushing weight fell down on his chest. "AHHHHH!"

"Sorry!" The pressure was relieved as a red-faced Piers leaped instantaneously off of Dean. "That…didn't work…I…we…er…found where it is."

Dean stared at Piers, completely and utterly embarrassed at having been tackled by a scrawny Muggle when he had _magic_. That must have been why he was embarrassed. It made sense. It also must have been why his cheeks felt so hot. "What?" He had been too busy staring at Piers – in shock, of course – to hear what he was saying.

"W-we found out where it is. The tracking spell. It's on the bone…because of the spell-thingy."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I…" Dean was at a loss for words. Half of him wanted to thank Piers and…half of him wanted to thank Piers. The other half wanted to scream at him. He settled for, "we'd better hurry."

Piers helped Dean up. "Are you alright?"

* * *

_Susan Bones_

Susan watched as Piers ran off after Dean, with Hannah still trying to pull herself away. There was a terrible sinking feeling in her heart. Hannah was never going to forgive her from this, and it hadn't been right, but she just couldn't let her…friend…run off and get herself killed. She had only been trying to protect her, but Hannah would hate her forever now. What mattered now was that Hannah was safe. And that was even more important than whether she was happy or not and whether Hannah was still her friend.

"Let go!" Susan immediately did, tears forming in her eyes. "You can't do that," Hannah whispered.

"Hannah, please listen," Susan pleaded. "I can't –"

"I thought you cared about me. I was wrong," Hannah told her, turning her back and walking away. "You don't have to pretend anymore. Just…please stay away from me." Susan wanted to protest, she wanted to make Hannah listen and tell her that she did care about her, but it was too late now. Hannah would never trust her again.

She looked over at Hannah, who was sitting over in the car, back turned. Susan let out a sob. At least Hannah hadn't run off and done something stupid. Hannah was safe. She would stay with the group, even if she wasn't talking to Susan.

"Hannah's safe." And, Susan told herself again and again, that was the only thing that truly mattered.

"I'm sorry," Dean said the moment he reached the group. "I'm so sorry, I was – where are Hannah and Dudley?"

"D-D-Dudley's over t-there," Susan said, wiping away the salty rivers on her face with a sleeve and pointing to the driver's seat where Dudley was happily eating crisps. "A-a-and H-H-H…"

"I'm over here," Hannah said, stepping out of the car. Her face was completely dry, and her eyes weren't the slightest bit red. Susan had been the only one who was crying. Hannah didn't miss her. "S-s-so I w-was look-looking it up in m-my book, a-and she," Hannah gestured at Susan, still not looking at her, "would have t-to t-t-touch the b-b-bone with h-her wand."

"I can do it," Dean said, "but you closed up my wound. Would you be able to…?"

"I-I-I c-can," Hannah took a deep breath. "I can open up a large enough hole in your leg to touch the bone, but it'll hurt. A lot."

"I'm ready."

"We should start going," Piers said, looking at his watch, "now."

* * *

_Hannah Abbott_

"What?" Hannah asked quietly. It was bad enough learning that her…well, Hannah wasn't quite certain what Susan had meant to her, but it was over now anyway…didn't care at all about her. But now she was going to have to perform a surgery will a lot of blood right afterwards? Hannah didn't want to look weak, so she had used a handy spell that Hermione had taught her during her fifth year that would dry up her tears and make her eyes look normal. The incident had affected he a lot more than she wanted Susan to know. But now, on top of a gruesome operation and an argument with Susan, she had to perform said operation in a moving vehicle?

"How long will this take you?"

"Dean's lost too much blood," Hannah told Piers. "We'll have to do this carefully. The setup alone will take half an hour, and probably ten minutes for the operation. Then twenty minutes to seal the wound with the proper healing spells and potions. We don't have the potions and I'm not a trained Healer, so that's down to about seven."

"We can't wait forty-seven minutes. The Deatheaters would have us dead by then!"

"You're right," Susan said. "We need to go."

"I – I could make it worse," Hannah argued. "I could kill Dean."

"Take the car ride," Dean said. "I'm willing to take that risk."

"I don't –"

"Can you do the operation?" Dean asked. "Does it have over a 50% chance of success?"

"I –"

"Can you do the operation?"

"Yes," Hannah said quietly.

"Then we'll go." Dean climbed into the back with Hannah. Piers sat down on the other side of Dean – he was scrawny enough that could fit in.

"Alright," Hannah ordered, shifting quickly into Healing mode. She would absolutely not let such things as her squeamishness, Susan hating her, and DOING AN OPERATION IN A MOVING VEHICLE get to her. "Dean, get up and lie down over us. But your head, er, on Pier's lap and your legs on my lap."

"But –"

"Do you want to live or not? Do it!" Hannah insisted. "I'm going to have to conjure ropes around you to keep you from moving too much, okay?"

"Sure."

Hannah didn't have enough precision to be using her wand, so she had to use a knife to cut open Dean's leg. As she was holding it to cast the third disinfectant spell, the car jolted forwards and the knife flew out of her hands. "Dudley!"

"Sorry." Taking a deep breath, Hannah retrieved the knife and continued the preparation on the knife, including some spells that would make Dean lose less blood. Hannah muttered a spell and bound Dean to the car seat.

"You're going to have to hold still. Piers, can you hold him down if need be?"

"I don't think so."

"Dean could die if you don't." Piers nodded, determined. "I'm going to make the incision. You ready?"

"Y-yes."

"Yes."

"Hold still," Hannah conjured the knife and opened Dean's bandage. Immediately, she was greeted by a terrible-looking wound with the skin around it all pale and bloodless. She fought back nausea as she held the knife over his wound. "Three, two, one –"

"AHHH!" Dean screamed, thrashing around.

"Piers!" The boy held Dean down, but the patient smacked him in the face and began to slide out of the bonds.

"Dean, Dean, calm down!" Dean's eyes looked a little less wild, and he stopped trying to attack Hannah and Piers. Hannah continued to cut through his flesh and towards the bone. Blood spilled out, covering the area and making it difficult to see. Making the incision with her right hand, Hannah had to siphon the blood back into Dean's veins with her left.

"STOP!" Piers yelled. Dean had punched him straight in the nose and he was bleeding, the red liquid spilling out onto Dean's shirt. But Piers continued to hold onto Dean, whispering encouragingly.

"Susan!" Hannah yelled. "Don't let it mix!" She finally managed to remove the blood from the area and there was enough space to touch the bone. "Now!"

Susan placed her wand on top of the bone as Dean screamed in agony. "_S-s-sa mal-m – Sa malus navis! Malus navis inveniet!_ It's gone!" Dean pushed Hannah away, sending her falling through the cupholder in the middle of the two front seats.

"Ahh!"

"Don't hurt Hannah!"

"Dean, don't move!"

"Let me drive!"

Hannah pushed herself up and fell down onto Dean as the car came to an abrupt stop. Dudley's door opened, but Hannah ignored it. All that mattered was the patient. Hannah waved her wand, hands shaking as she applied what little potions she had to close the wound. Her clothes were covered in Dean's blood as she worked, but that wasn't important.

Dean stopped screaming. He moaned in pain, but Piers was able to continue squeezing Dean's hand without being injured. Not that that had stopped him before.

Susan pushed the painkiller into Dean's mouth. "Out!" Hannah yelled. "I need space!" Susan too left the car, leaving only Hannah, Dean, and Piers. "Dean, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"I like it when you hold my hand," he murmured deliriously to Piers.

"Well, you're alive," Hannah said, casting her final spells. "How much does it hurt?"

"I'm fine," Dean said trying to get up and falling back down.

"No, you're not," Piers said.

"_Tergeo!_" Hannah said, and the blood all over the three of them was siphoned away. And, "_Episkey!_" Piers's broken nose morphed back into place.

"Guys," Dudley said, huffing and puffing as he ran over to the car, "you've got to see this!"

Hannah looked around. She wasn't going to be much use at this point to Dean, and Piers was perfectly fine.

"You go," Piers said. "I'll stay with Dean." Hannah stepped out of the car, expecting to see Order members waiting for them. But instead, she beheld an apartment building in ruins, concrete dust heavy in the air. And above it hung the terrifying image of a snake winding its way through the mouth of a skull: the Dark Mark.

* * *

_Dudley Dursley_

"We've got to get out of here," Dudley said. "Now!" He ran towards the car, throwing himself onto the driver's seat and shoving the key that Susan had spent the operation fabricating on the way there into the ignition. "Everyone in?"

"Wha's happ'nin'?" Dean wondered from where he was lying.

"The Dark Mark," Susan said, her breathing ragged.

"What the hell's a Dark Mark?" Piers shouted. "The car moving could hurt Dean!"

"Deatheaters've been there, and recently too," Hannah said. "Now go!"

"Go…" Dean murmured to himself. Dudley pulled the car out of its parking lot, setting off on the road at way above the speed limit. He had no clue where he was going, but he knew that he had to get out of there, and fast. That bright green thing in the sky had been so scary.

"Where are we going?" Susan wondered.

"Shut up," Dudley said, looking through the mirror at the car behind him. It looked familiar, like he had seen it before…

Dudley turned onto another road, black shiny car still following close behind. He made another turn, and, just to be certain, another. "Damn it!"

"What?" Dean asked. His eyes were still dull and glassy from the pain medication, but he was sitting straight up in his seat.

"We're being followed. So unless you can use your magic to help us…"

CRASH! Something slammed into the driver's side of the car, sending it careening off the road and knocking Dudley against Susan. The car skid to a stop at the bottom of the hill that the road was built on, knocking Dudley forwards at top speed. There was a high-pitched shriek and a thump that sounded suspiciously like a head hitting the ceiling as the car pitched forwards and toppled over, seatbelt digging into Dudley's chest.

"Is everyone okay?" Came a wavering voice. Dudley shook himself and extracted himself from the driver's seat where his head had very nearly hit the door – no, the floor now. Next to him, Susan was out cold, having hit the dashboard of the car. The entire left end of the car, where Hannah had been sitting, had been demolished by some weird force. Hannah lay crumpled on the door of the car, a giant lump on her head. Piers had fallen down against the ground, but was only winded and Dudley could see him coaxing Dean up. "I saw in movies these explode sometimes," Dudley said nervously. "Maybe we should…get out."

"I can't…carry…Hannah or…or…Susan," Piers managed to say, face strained with the effort of pulling Dean to his feet.

Dean whispered something and Hannah stirred, her head's lump decreasing. "W-w-w…?" Hannah asked in a quavering voice, looking around in confusion.

"Can you heal them?" Dudley asked urgently. Hannah seemed concussed, and Susan still wasn't awake. They might have to leave Susan there, maybe even Hannah. And if they couldn't get Dean out, Dudley doubted that Piers would leave him. On his own, Dudley would die in no time. Not to mention, whoever destroyed their car would probably realize that they were still alive soon.

"Hannah, can you heal yourself?" Piers asked Hannah.

"H-h-heal?" Dean struggled forwards and cast another spell. Hannah shook herself and looked around again. "I think I can, maybe." Hannah said, her voice nearly non-existent. "_R-R-R-Rennervate!"_ Susan moaned and struggled up to her feet.

"Is everyone okay?" Susan asked.

"Maybe," Dudley said, "but not for long. We've got to get out of here. NOW!" Dudley climbed through the doorway and raced through the car, beyond caring whether the others had followed. If they were going to die, he might at least save himself.

There was a shout, and Dudley looked over his shoulder to see Hannah, Susan, Dean, and Piers stumbling along behind him. The sudden feeling of guilt like a weight crushing down on his chest made him stop and run back towards the others to help them along.

Dudley had just reached Hannah when the car exploded in a fiery ball of molten metal. The group was thrown onto their backs as the ground shook. "AAAHHHHH!" They screamed in unison.

"Up!" Susan said, helping Hannah to her feet, who then withdrew her hand like she had been bitten. Susan's face visibly fell. "Now is _not _the time to –" Susan pushed Hannah to the ground as a bolt of green magic whizzed past their heads.

"_Stupefy!_" Dean yelled, pointing his wand at the trees where the spell had come from. "_Stupefy, stupefy, stupefy!_ Damn it, I can't hit 'em!"

Susan bit her lip and pointed her wand at the trees. Squinting, she cast her spell. "_Stupefy!_" There was a shout and a thump, and then three people stepped out from the trees.

"We can do this," Susan said to a trembling Hannah. Hannah flinched and stepped away from her. But then more Deatheaters stepped out from behind them, wands raised. Dudley spun around, his face turning white with fear.

"Place your wands down on the ground," said a man with sharp, yellow teeth and vicious eyes. Dudley recognized him as the one who had cast that horrible curse on Piers at the convenience store. "And we'll kill you quickly…more or less. If not…I think the Dark Lord will let me have a…bit of fun." Susan stepped in front of Hannah protectively, who pushed her out of the way.

Dudley looked around. They were surrounded. Even with Dean, Hannah, and Susan they had no chance. "I'll come with you if you let Piers go," Dudley said, courage suddenly filling him. He was going to die, but at least he could protect his friends.

"Let the purebloods go and I'll do whatever you want," Dean said.

"You're not in much of a position to bargain," the man said, grinning. "Wands down, or else." Susan looked around shakily and began to place her wand on the ground.

"No!" Hannah said in spite of herself, and immediately looked disgusted.

"Trust me," Susan whispered.

"Good," the wolf-eyed Deatheater said, walking over to take the wand. "The rest of you, wands on the ground." Susan nodded, and slowly the other wizards placed their weapons on the ground. The Deatheater walked over to Susan, sniffing the air. "I smell a trick!" He said, shaking her by the shirt.

"Get away from her!" Hannah shouted, reaching to get her wand. Dudley grabbed her to hold her back on instinct.

"If you dare defy us," the Deatheater threatened Susan, shouting in her face. "I will make your death the most painful one imaginable!" Susan remained standing, straight up, as if utterly unfazed. "Do you understand?" He shook her again.

"Yes," Susan said. The Deatheater released her and bent down to pick up her wand. Suddenly, Susan kicked him between the eyes and between the legs in quick succession, sending him flying back into another Deatheater, face bleeding. She swept up her wand and spun around, sending a bolt of red energy at another Deatheater and he fell to the ground with crash.

"_Stupefy!_" Dean yelled. His red spell flew past on of the Deatheaters, and he just barely dodged one of the returning spells. Dudley dove onto the ground just in time for a green bolt of energy to miss his head by a hair's breadth.

Dudley couldn't see much of the battle as it unfolded, for it was too risky for him to get up to look around. Many times he was nearly hit by deadly spells, but just barely managed to roll out of the way.

"Die, Muggle scum!" A Deatheater yelled, whirling around to cast a spell at Dudley. He scooched backwards, cursing. "_Avada Keda_ –" the Deatheater collapsed on top of top of Dudley. Above him stood Piers with a large tree branch.

"Alright there, Dudley?" Piers said, pushing the unconscious Deatheater off of Dudley, who scrambled to his feet –

– just in time for the curse to hit.

Blinding pain erupted across Dudley's chest, a fiery sensation spreading along the long gash as coppery blood rushed out of it. He couldn't see, couldn't think, all there was was the pain…

Dudley didn't know how long he lay there, trapped within his body by the jailor of agony. Then the fog began to clear, and he was suddenly aware of Hannah kneeling beside him, wand lying on his chest as the gash miraculously closed.

He shook his head to see Piers and Dudley standing near him. Susan was sitting off to the side, leaning against a tree, her teeth gritted as she tried to ignore a splinter of wood stuck in her arm. "S-S-Susan," Dudley choked out. "H-h-heal S-S-Susan." Hannah nodded and ran over to Susan, talking in hushed tones.

Dudley smiled. They were alive. They had survived. All was well.

"Piers, look out!" Dean pushed Piers backwards as he was tackled by the growling, yellow-toothed Deatheater. Dudley's yell died in his throat as he stared, shocked into inaction. The man's teeth tore into Dean's throat…

"No!" Piers shouted, running forwards. The wolf-man looked up, his eyes alive with primal pleasure as he threw himself at Dudley's friend, his best friend who he had known for over a decade…

There was a CRASH! as the Deatheater was ripped off of Piers's still body, flying through the air and landing hard on the ground. Dean lay on the grass, breathing heavily as the life ebbed from his limbs, his wand pointed at the Deatheater.

Piers moaned, his face badly scratched and bloody and a huge bite mark in his arm made by the teeth of the wolf-like man. Hannah rushed over to Dean, her voice calm and reassuring as she tried to seal his wounds. "It's not working, it's not!" She yelled frantically, tears pooling in her eyes, tumbling down her face as they mingled with sweat and blood. "Dean! Dean, say something!"

"I –" Dean slumped down. As he spoke, his lips barely moved and he coughed up blood with every word. "Tell – D-Dean…sorry…"

"Dean!" Piers yelled from where he had crawled to on the ground. "Dean, please, come back! Dean, come back!"

But all that answered was silence.

* * *

_Piers Polkiss_

Piers sat apart from everyone else, looking at the small mound of dirt. There was no body to bury, no grave marker, just a small, unnamed pile of dirt rising out of the ground. "Do you want someone here?" A voice asked. Piers looked up through blurry eyes. The tears refracted the image like a prism, making it nearly impossible for him to see who it was. Someone sat down beside him.

"Hi, Dudley," Piers said, his voice choked.

"It's okay to cry, you know," Dudley reassured him.

"I think…I think I loved him," Piers admitted softly. His chest hurt, a sinking sensation that made him feel like he could never ever be lifted up again.

"I wish I knew how to make it better," Dudley said, "but I don't. It's always going to hurt. But that doesn't mean that everything's lost. And he would have been glad that you lived."

"I'm not just going to move on," Piers said, filled with rage. How could Dudley say that everything was fine? That it wasn't horrible? Dean had _died_. "How dare you say that it's going to be good, that he'd be happy when he's dead?" He snarled. "It would've been better if _I _died, Greyback was going for me." Then quietly, he whispered, "I was supposed to die."

"Dean made a choice – and no, it's not good that he's dead, Piers, I would never think that! But he cared about you, and I think he knew that you cared about him. You didn't kill him, Piers. Greyback did. And he's dead now."

"It's my fault," Piers said, leaning against Dudley. "It's all my fault."

"Dean wouldn't want you to feel guilty."

"How can you know what Dean would want?" Piers lashed out.

"I know that he loved you," Dudley said, "and he wouldn't want you to hurt. You know it's okay to cry, right?" Piers broke down in tears, sobbing into Dudley's shoulder by the unmarked, lonely grave.

* * *

_Hannah Abbott_

_I can't even save my friend_, Hannah thought, _some healer I am! _"Go away," she hissed as Susan sat down beside her. Susan didn't budge. "Go away!"

"Hannah, you've been sitting here for hours. You need to eat something."

"I don't deserve it," Hannah said, staring off into the distance. "I couldn't even save one person. I _tried_, Susan, I've never had to try that hard at healing someone before, and it didn't work. If only I had noticed the healing potions the Deatheaters had – I would have been able to save him! He would have lived, but he didn't, because I just couldn't be good enough!" Susan placed a tentative hand on Hannah's shoulder, but she flinched. Hannah felt dirty, like she was covered in grime and muck that would never come out no matter how hard she tried.

"You did everything you could –"

"No," Hannah said, feeling as if she could finally see clearly, "I didn't. I've never done enough, never worked hard enough. And look! This is what I did!"

"You didn't kill Dean, Hannah," Susan reminded her. "Fenrir Greyback did."

"But if I'd been a better healer he would have lived!" Hannah said. "I spent most of my classes gossiping with you, and now Dean's died for it. _Died_, Susan. There's nothing I can do to make it better. Yeah, I'm not the one who killed him, but if I could have been smarter, more hardworking, _better_, then he'd still be alive. His blood's on my hands – literally and metaphorically."

Susan pointed her wand at Hannah, and for an instant she thought that Susan was going to use the Bodybind curse on her and make her listen (part of her was scared but the other part of her wanted Susan to care that much, wanted someone to care, wanted someone to make her stop hating herself), but she simply said "_Tergeo_," calmly.

"You know," Susan said, "I never apologized. I'm sorry for…everything."

"It's fine," Hannah muttered, wiping away a tear. It's not like her forgiveness would matter to Susan – she knew that she, Hannah, had been the monster all along. Every time she tried to help, she only hurt more. And now, Dean was dead. Hannah was worthless.

"You should be angrier," Susan said, "I had no right to stop you. I just wanted to protect my friend," she said softly.

A thrill ran through Hannah's chest, suddenly making her feel lighter. The corners of her mouth tugged her face into a small, sad smile. Susan cared. Susan didn't think she was worthless. "I'm sorry too," Hannah said quietly. Susan scooched a little closer.

"Don't blame yourself," Susan said, "please."

"I'll…try."

"There's more people out there," Susan said, smiling, "more people to help. As long as someone needs you, it's not all lost." She looked sadly at the grave by which Piers and Dudley were sitting. "You can't fix everything. You can't save everyone. But there are people out there who are struggling, who are hurting, who are in danger. People who need us. People who need you. People who need Hannah Sage Abbott. They're out there," Susan said, brushing a strand of Hannah's hair behind her ear, "just waiting for you."

The wind blew, sending a barrage of sleet at the small group, who were struggling along through the knee-deep snow. It was somewhere around Christmas, and late into the night. Piers had long since lost track of time as he lived on the run. It had been about half a year since he had lost Dean, and over three months since Dudley had been captured and likely tortured to death by Voldemort.

"How much longer?" asked Hannah, who was shivering as she fell farther and farther behind. Her long, knotted blonde hair was soaked though and being blown into her face by the heavy gale.

"Hold on," Susan said encouragingly, "just a little longer until we reach the site." They were looking for a drop-box for the Order of the Phoenix, betrayed to them by a drunk man in a Muggle pub. It was likely a trap, but they weren't about to throw away their only chance at joining the elusive rebels.

_Crack!_ A tree branch fell, obscuring their path as Piers jumped back just in time. He nearly knocked into Susan, but instead he fell into the snow, cold seeping through his thick winter clothing. Piers struggled up and spun around, flashlight barely penetrating the dangerous blizzard. The wind howled.

Piers felt like someone was out there, but he couldn't see. "_LUMOS MAXIMA!_" Susan shouted. A blinding light lit up the surrounding area, revealing a group of witches and wizards wearing silver masks and dark robes.

"Damn it," Piers muttered, taking out his pistol just like they had practiced. It wouldn't be much use here, however. Might look threatening enough. The light dissipated, and the group could no longer see their foes. "Come out and place your wands on the ground!" Piers shouted over the storm, "I've got a Combustion Device here, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"I ain't heard of one o' dose!" A voice yelled back, followed by several offensive spells shooting out at their general vicinity. Luckily, they were nowhere near hitting them. Susan gave Piers a look like 'what're you playing at, let's just Apparate,' but Piers mouthed 'fire' at her.

"This is your last chance," Piers said, "for we shall not be…merciful."

"I dunno," someone else said, "maybe we shou' check, ya know? Just 'n case?"

"Quit your dawdling!" Piers shouted, firing his pistol off in their general direction. He missed, but it didn't matter because Susan conjured a bolt of fire. There was a scream of pain, and a stream of foul curses. "The Lord of Flame requires your presence – it would be such a…waste…to kill such good minions as yourselves." Susan smirked and began waving her wand in all sorts of enchantments as Hannah cast a Disillusionment charm on herself.

"Please!" A man yelled, coming into view with two equally devoted Deatheaters and a reluctant one trailing him.

Piers felt himself being levitated into the air with a hovering charm, and he spread his arms as if he were some sort of mystical figure. "All hail me, the great Lord of Flame!"

"My Lord!" One of the Deatheaters yelled, bowing frantically. "Forgive us!"

"Go!" Piers shouted, "And leave me to my dread business!" Piers fired the pistol once more, and Susan conjured another bolt of flame. The Deatheaters fled into the night, Apparating away as fast as they could. Piers felt himself lowered onto the ground. And then there was fire.

Hannah spun around, her eyes wide, as she viewed the giant circle of burning flame surrounding her and her friends. "SUSAN!" She screamed.

"I didn't do it!" Susan yelled. They both turned to Piers. And then there was a CRASH!

In the ring of fire landed a ginormous creature. Its glistening, dark green scales were each as large as a knight's shield, and appeared ten times as strong. It was a behemoth – forty to fifty feet long, with strong, bulging muscles and large, powerful wings. From its forehead grew two long, shining golden horns. A leather saddle was on its back, upon which sat a figure dressed from head to toe in leather clothing who seemed to be yelling something over the wind.

"..r…oe…eat…is…bott?...an…ear…old…second…" The man leaped off the saddle, using his wand to cushion the ground where he landed. Hannah backed away until she was leaning against Susan, who grabbed her hand. She wasn't sure whether this was a Deatheater or not, but either way there wasn't much she could do. Hannah was trapped.

"Sorry about that," the man said, removing his face gear, "you're not Deatheaters, right? Don't look like them." He waved his wand, and the ring of fire was extinguished.

"Wh-who are you?" Hannah asked. The wind stole her voice, but the man still seemed to hear her.

"Charlie Weasley. And you look like the Bones and Abbott heirs. Everyone thought you died in the battle." Before Hannah could do anything, he waved his wand. A faint green glow appeared around the three of them, but quickly faded away. "Huh," Charlie Weasley said, "no Polyjuice."

"_Dissimulato Deprehendere_!" Susan yelled. Charlie Weasley also glowed green for a moment. "Can you take us to the Order of the Phoenix?" Susan asked.

"I can take you to a safehouse," Weasley said.

"No! We want to fight!"

"You're too –"

"Don't even try that," Susan said. Hannah wondered whether or not she realized that Weasley had a _dragon_. "We're eighteen – old enough to fight."

"Are you certain?" Weasley asked.

"Quit going through this," Susan insisted, "since we both know what the answer will be. I'm going to help; take me to the Order."

"The offer of a safehouse is still open to you two," Weasley told Hannah and Piers. Hannah knew that she should say no. It would be right to say no. But she was so scared. Besides, it wasn't like her friends needed her – she was just a liability.

"I'll fight," Piers declared.

"Do you even have a wand?" Weasley asked, skeptical.

"I may be a Muggle," Piers said, ignoring Weasley's astonishment, "but that doesn't mean I'm useless. I don't have magic, but I've still got a brain. I've still got courage. And I've still got a debt to my friends that can never be repaid."

"You sure –"

"I'm fighting."

Hannah wanted so much to say yes, to accept the safety and comfort that Weasley was offering. To not have to fight. To not have to fail. To not have to hurt.

"_There's more people out there," Hannah remembered Susan telling her, "more people to help."_

"I'm going to fight," Hannah said. "I may not be able to fell Deatheaters in a single blow and all that, but I'm going to help all the same. There've been people I couldn't save, and there will be many more, but there are people out there who I can help. People who do need me. People who I can save. And I'm not going to fail them." Hannah resolved, her hands clenched at her sides. There was a glorious future out there, and she was going to help make it. Hannah climbed onto the dragon with Weasley and her friends, following his instructions as to how to ride the fantastic beast.

And so, the dragon soared into the sky towards a new, bright future, as the sun began to rise.


End file.
